Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.57 Per Share

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.57 per share on Sunday, April 20th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55.

Xcel Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 6.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Xcel Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 52.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Xcel Energy to earn $4.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.19 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.9%.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.97. 3,907,531 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,410,919. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.91. The firm has a market cap of $40.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels.